


A (Not So) Perfect Evening

by expressivepokerface



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, copious amounts of cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23279815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/expressivepokerface/pseuds/expressivepokerface
Summary: Diana's enjoying a perfect evening with Akko by her side, until it's abruptly interrupted.Or: Diana's not-so-secretly scared of thunder, but luckily Akko's on the case.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 24
Kudos: 230





	A (Not So) Perfect Evening

The gentle pitter-patter of rain outside was pleasant background noise to Diana as she sat on the edge of her soft, comfortable bed and leafed through the pages of her novel. Absentmindedly, she stroked the head of silky brunette hair currently using her lap as a pillow while its owner read her own ‘manga’. Hannah and Barbara were absent, having decided to spend their last bit of time before curfew finishing up class projects, which meant she and Akko had the dorm entirely to themselves - an opportunity they intended to make the most of.

Evenings like these were her absolute favourite; relaxing with a good book, enjoying some peace and quiet, and best of all getting to share these things with her girlfriend. That last detail was notoriously difficult to get to cooperate with those first two details, but the moment Diana mentioned the words ‘cuddling’ and ‘time alone’, _Akko_ had been the one practically hauling her back to her dorm.

Diana glanced down at the girl in question, and found red eyes peeking up at her from the top of Akko’s book. Upon being discovered, they curled up in a way that, even though Diana couldn’t see her face, made it clear Akko was smiling up at her - a gesture she couldn’t resist returning at the utterly adorable sight. Akko giggled like a giddy child, a melodic sound that only served to widen Diana’s smile and stoke the warmth in her chest further.

Truly, times like these were wonderful. With such a lovely atmosphere, and with such wonderful company, everything felt right in the world; nothing, absolutely nothing, could ruin this perfect moment.

…she just _had_ to jinx it, didn’t she?

Both of them startled as a flash of light lit up the room, followed a few seconds thereafter by the loud, telltale _crack-a-thoom!_ of thunder. Whereas Akko squawked and full-body jumped at the sudden noise, rolling off Diana’s lap and onto the hard wooden floor with a painful-sounding thump, Diana instead completely froze up with a strangled squeak as dread seized her heart. Her novel dropped to the floor, having fallen out of her now-slack grip.

Akko recovered fairly quickly, groaning and rubbing at her red forehead as she stood up and started making her way over to the nearest window, grumbling about ‘stupid no-carpet floors’ and their ‘evil, _evil_ ways’ along the way. Diana’s heart bade her forward to take her wand from her desk and soothe the other girl’s pain, or at least - as Akko would no doubt enjoy immensely - kiss it better, but her body refused to cooperate, as if locked in place with invisible chains.

“Wow, it’s gotten real crazy out there all of a sudden,” Akko commented, though it was somewhat muffled since she’d practically flattened her face against the window to look outside. Diana could see from where she was sat that the once-gentle rain had become a hefty downpour in the span of barely half a minute, as if summoned for the sole purpose of ruining her peaceful evening. In stark contrast to Diana’s attitude, Akko actually somehow sounded _excited_ about the rolling clouds of electric death outside.

“Ooh, Diana, look! You can actually some lightning strikes from here-!” Akko’s grin dropped and her exclamation cut off abruptly when she turned back and finally noticed Diana’s frozen state. She blinked at her for a moment, mouth still hanging half-open, before finally kicking into Panic Mode.

“D-Diana?!” Akko called out worriedly, quickly rushing over. A hand waved rapidly in front of Diana’s face, which helped to finally jump-start her mind back into semi-working order. Enough, at least, for her to realise she’d been staring blankly at nothing for a suspiciously long time. “Are you okay?! What’s wrong?! W-Wait, did I hit you by accident when I fell off earlier?! I’m so sorry! O-Or are you feeling sick maybe? Or-or-”

“Akko,” Diana interjected softly, and Akko’s jaw immediately clicked shut. Diana gave her the most reassuring smile she could manage despite the shock still making its way through her system, and reached out to take Akko’s hand to rub soothing circles on its back. Who, exactly, she was truly trying to comfort with the contact was uncertain though. “There’s no need to worry, I’m p-perfectly fine. I was just…taken by surprise by that first strike.”

“You didn’t _look_ fine, you were completely frozen like you’d just shut down or something! Are you _really_ okay?”

“I’m okay, Akko, truly,” Diana lied semi-smoothly, with only a slight tremble in her voice. Truthfully, she was still very much shaken, but the idea of swallowing her pride and admitting to having a fear of what was essentially just _bad weather_ was embarrassing simply to imagine, even if it was to Akko.

Akko still looked doubtful, but she at least seemed to be calming down from her concern-driven panic. “Are you _really_ , though? Like, really really? One-hundred percent definitely?”

“Yes, really really; I promise,” Diana laughed lightly, finding that at the very least, Akko being _Akko_ would never fail to help her feel better. “There’s really no need to wor-”

_CRACK!_ Another thunder-strike sounded out abruptly. Diana’s reassurance devolved into a mortifyingly high-pitched yelp, and she couldn’t stop herself from flinching horribly at the horrid noise.

Akko stared at her in silence for a moment, seemingly taken aback by her uncharacteristically extreme reaction. Just before she could recover enough to come up with some sort of logical defence for herself, however, realisation began to shine in Akko’s eyes. “Wait a sec, Diana, are you…scared of thunder?”

“N-No,” Diana denied just a bit too hastily, silently cursing this damnable stutter that just _wouldn_ _’t leave her alone_. It was just a _sound_ , just _weather_ , so why was it affecting her this badly? She was _Diana Cavendish_ , for Nine’s sake; something like this should have been easy for her to quash!

“ _Reeeallly?_ ” Akko asked with a teasing smile, her eyes twinkling with the beginnings of mischief. _“_ ’Cause I coulda _sworn_ I heard you squeak super cutely just a second ago…?”

“D-Don’t be silly, Akko,” Diana replied as casually as she could, gathering every last remnant of her Cavendish Composure to appear unaffected. Her hands still refused to cease their slight trembling, though, because her body was just on a roll with refusing to listen to her today. “I would n-never be scared by something as mundane as-”

_Crack-a-thoom!_ Came another sudden echo of thunder, as if the wretched storm was actively trying to sabotage Diana’s efforts to hide her childish phobia. This time an actual, honest-to-Jennifer, _shriek_ escaped her, right in front of her smirking girlfriend. Her hand slapped over her mouth immediately after, but it was too little too late.

“Not scared, huh?”

“T-That was just…I was simply taken off guard again.”

“Uh-huh. Well, scared or not, I think _someone_ could do with a nice, extra specially warm hug to feel better right now,” Akko decided, stretching her arms out in clear invitation. While being pampered and comforted by her girlfriend _was_ admittedly a very attractive prospect right now, Diana’s stubborn pride refused to yield so easily.

“Akko, w-while I appreciate your kind offer, I’m truly o-okay; I don’t need a hug,” Diana reassured the other girl as confidently as she could (which wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as usual right now, even to her own ears) as she stood up and folded her arms.

“…Okay then,” Akko agreed far, _far_ too easily. Diana’s brain immediately started blaring out danger signals, because Atsuko Kagari didn’t just _give up_. This was the girl who was willing to shoot herself out of a _cannon_ just to have a chance at winning a broom race tournament; Diana knew fully well the extents of Akko’s gumption - it was part of what she loved about her, after all - and there was _no chance_ she was just giving in like that.

She was proven right to be suspicious a moment later, when Akko quickly crossed the last bit of distance between them and hooked one arm behind Diana’s back and the other behind her knees, before lifting her into a princess carry in one smooth motion. Diana couldn’t stop the undignified noise of surprise that escaped her then, which only compounded her embarrassment further. It didn’t exactly help that Akko holding her so closely like this was making more than just fear run amok in her chest.

“If you’re not gonna come to the hugs, then the hugs are just gonna have to come to you!” Akko declared, beaming down with proud mischief at the now-blushing girl in her arms. “Or, well, take you _to_ the hugs, I guess.”

“P-Put me down, Akko!” Diana demanded in what was absolutely a strict tone and _not_ , in any way shape or form, a squeak.

“Nope!” Akko singsonged gleefully, apparently taking great pleasure in Diana’s flustered suffering. “Two can play at the stubborn game, missy.”

Before Diana could so much as think to reply, she yelped again as she was unceremoniously dropped onto her soft bed. While she was still recovering from her surprise, Akko took Diana’s wand and blew out the green light of magic at its tip, instantly cutting out the dorm’s lights. Then, she jumped onto the bed and grabbed the duvet, quickly pulling it over the both of them so they were enveloped in an incredibly dark, but comfortable, cocoon. In the darkness cast by her new containment, Diana could just about make out Akko’s large, satisfied grin.

“There, we can’t really see the flashes now, and the sound should be nice and muffled. Genius, am I right? And, best of all, now you have no choice but to accept your comfort cuddles!” Akko declared. A second later warm, familiar arms wrapped around Diana and pulled her in for an affectionate hug that, even with the trill of fear still present, made her heart squeeze with warmth. Even as her willpower completely crumbled in Akko’s embrace, though, her pride demanded she make at least one final attempt to save her dignity.

“A-Akko, while I really do appreciate the thought, I’m n-not-”

“Did you know,” Akko started quite suddenly and softly, squeezing Diana a little tighter in her arms, “that when you get nervous or scared your voice gets extra fancy? Like, even more than usual.”

…Did it? Diana replayed her previous words back over in her head and felt a blush begin creeping up her neck when she realised that, yes, her refined accent had apparently been gradually intensifying, somehow without her even realising, to the point where she was practically talking like the Queen herself. Because she hadn’t embarrassed herself enough today, it seemed.

“I love it, even if you find it a bit embarrassing. I love it because I love _you_ , Diana, even if you’re a stubborn goofball about admitting stuff like this.” Akko leaned in to give Diana a quick, sweet kiss on the tip of her nose that left lingering tingles. “I’d never judge you for being scared of thunder, and you shouldn’t feel bad for it either. It’s just another part of the girl I love so much, ya know? Simple as that.”

Diana stared speechless at the tenderly smiling girl across from her. In her chest, a familiar blazing warmth began to surge as those words echoed in her ears. Another flash and crack of lightning sounded out from outside their makeshift den, but in that moment, she couldn’t hear anything past her quickening heartbeat.

In hindsight, she couldn’t help but feel foolish for her prideful posturing; this was _Akko_ , the girl who always encouraged her to follow her dreams, who always gave her infinite love, affection and joy throughout their friendship and relationship; the same girl who would never judge her, and would always want her to be herself, no matter what that might entail. In hindsight Diana really was, as Akko so aptly put it, a ‘stubborn goofball’.

“…Thank you, Atsuko,” Diana murmured with a no-doubt sappy smile, finally properly returning the hug and pulling her girlfriend in closer for a gentle kiss. “I love you too, you utter sweetheart.”

Akko giggled, cheeks dusting a pleased red. “So, are you finally ready to admit you’re a bit spooked by lightning to your super sweet, loving, unjudging girlfriend?”

“I…suppose the cat is out of the bag at this point, isn’t it?” Diana chuckled lightly. “Though with how rattled I was, I guess it wasn’t ever truly in there to begin with. I’m sorry I tried to hide it from you, it just…it feels so silly, being scared of something as trivial as _weather_.”

“It’s not silly, silly,” Akko reassured her, “if you’re scared of it, you’re scared of it - it doesn’t have to make sense or anything. You _know_ I’ll be there for you no matter what, even if you were scared of, like…books, or something. Wait no, that’s not that weird, with that cursed book that tried to eat me that one time. Uhh... Plants? No wait-”

“I get what you mean, Akko. Don’t worry,” Diana reassured, patting Akko’s back as she barely held back her laughter, though it bled into her tone nonetheless. Akko’s resultant grumpy pout at her amusement was, in a word, _adorable_. “Thank you, again. I’ll admit I already feel a little calmer thanks to the power of your ‘comfort cuddles’.”

As she finished speaking, she was distantly aware of another faint _crack_ of thunder, muffled by the covers surrounding them. Once more, though, it bounced off her mind as inconsequentially as a pebble skipping over water. She was far too focused on the burgeoning feeling of warm love inside of her, and the beautiful, kind, wonderful girl in her arms, to notice anything else. Every single day, it seemed, Diana found herself finding more and more reasons to love Akko - and today was most certainly no exception. Her, quite literal in this case, though it was incredibly cheesy even to think, bright lighthouse to guide her to safety in even the roughest of storms.

Much like said lighthouse, Akko’s grin lit up the darkness of their makeshift bunker. “Good! I’m not going anywhere, so you can snuggle up as much as you want - a win-win for both of us!”

“Well,” Diana laughed lightly, finding her smile quickly growing, “with such an appealing offer, how could I ever refuse? I’ll gladly take you up on that, Akko.”

Finally, she allowed herself to properly settle into Akko’s warm, familiar arms, relaxing completely. Another flash of dim light and boom of thunder pierced their protective veil of quilt, but Akko was quick to pull her in closer and make soothing little noises, as well as to place a kiss on the top of Diana’s fluffy hair. It was quite the effective technique, one that had Diana’s heart quivering for a very different reason to her previous fear.

Every second she spent in Akko’s arms made her feel safer and safer, the flowing current of warmth and ardent love in her chest assuring her that, here, no fear or anxiety could hope to touch her. Despite Akko’s words, she still couldn’t help but feel a little silly seeking refuge from _sounds,_ but…well, with it leading to results like these, she couldn’t quite find it in herself to feel too disheartened. Especially with Akko still peppering her hair with kisses, each sparking smiles and mini fireworks in her chest.

“How is it? Feeling nice and comfy? Happy?” Akko paused in her task to ask, and Diana could hear the smile in her voice.

“Very,” Diana answered warmly, smiling into Akko’s neck. “Your cuddling skills are as sharp, or I suppose as soft _,_ as ever, Akko.”

“Ehehe,” Akko giggled proudly. “I _a_ _m_ the master after all, and I’ve had lots and lots of practice with an amazing cuddle-buddy.”

It was a cheesy line, but it earned her a chortle from Diana nonetheless. “Well, thank you. For both your premium quality cuddles as well as, again, for…for being you. For being so sweet. Thank you. I love you, Atsuko.”

“Anytime, Diana,” Akko answered softly, shifting slightly so she could press a longer, more gentle kiss upon Diana’s forehead. “Love you too.”

Their pieces said, they descended into peaceful, companionable silence. Yet again, thunder struck outside of the safety of their duvet den, but at this point, the shock barely managed to make so much as a dent in the light currently filling Diana’s heart.

Even if her initial plans for the evening hadn’t quite gone how she’d anticipated, she mused with a content smile, things had still turned out quite wonderfully in the end. Certainly, she wouldn’t know what happened in the rest of her story, and certainly, the weather had destroyed the previous peaceful atmosphere, but none of that mattered so long as she had Akko by her side; in the end, that was all she truly needed to have a perfect evening.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I know it's not the most revolutionary idea for a story, but I wanted to get something light and fluffy down for people to hopefully enjoy and to help me get back into the swing of things. Feedback is, as always, very welcome!


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